Raising capital

At the first row of tables sat the leading professors of the technology, economics and social science faculties. At the second row behind, but higher, sat the sponsors. Below, three delegations had come to present high-tech projects seeking sponsorship for research and production.
The first delegation stepped up and switched on the projector to show their Mars robot project:

• Honoured sponsors, honoured international professors, we are delighted to present the Mars robot project.
  Exploring Mars, searching for traces of life on Mars and developing life on Mars is a strategic direction for the space programmes of all countries. But with Mars's harsh conditions as they are today, humans cannot land there to live and build anything.
  Our group of scientists has completed the design of a model of robot that can replace humans in the first phase of activity there. These robots, forgive me, are much more intelligent than many people on this Earth. They will go there to explore, research, build housing, dig shelters, create farms for crops, tap water sources and solar energy or other sources, until a suitable environment has been created and humans can follow.
  Here are the superior properties of the Mars robot...
  The delegation showed slides and gave detailed explanations of everything. Much applause rang out when the delegation finished its presentation.

The second delegation came forward to present a project for smart weapons that could protect humankind from threats from space, such as meteorites or the flying saucers of extraterrestrials. They argued that since ancient times those who survived were those with fighting strength. For life on Earth to survive, there must also be superior force to strike first and win first. The weapon they had designed was a system capable of being launched into space, sunk to the sea floor, stationed on high mountain peaks and hidden deep within bustling cities, then working together to destroy dangers in the bud....

The third delegation came up to present a project for robots to clean up rubbish in the oceans. Instead of people having to dive down themselves to clear the rubbish flooding the oceans, which is destroying the lives of many precious marine creatures, now we need only release 10,000 robots. These robots would roam in all directions across all the oceans, find their own energy from the beating of waves, and gather the rubbish to carry to aircraft carrier-style ships where it would all be processed and recycled. These intelligent robots would collect only rubbish and never mistakenly collect any marine creature....

The professors conferred a great deal among themselves and consulted the super-wealthy sponsors a great deal about which project to choose, or, if all three were chosen, how many billions of US dollars each would receive.

Then the old professor from Vietnam spoke:

• Honoured ladies and gentlemen, I think we should integrate all three projects into one for sponsorship. Every project is enormously expensive and will take a great deal of time. Mars is only a dream and a way to satisfy the human scientific urge to conquer; it cannot help the majority of humanity live together in peace and happiness. Super-weapons are only a worry that is far too remote, and may carry great risk if some wicked person seized control of the super-weapon system and turned all of humankind into slaves.
  I propose putting the Mars technologies and the super-weapon technologies into developing the robots that clean the oceans. That would be of great benefit to the world. The technological ideas that the third delegation has put forward still have many shortcomings that need supplementing. If we take the technological ideas of the Mars robot and of the super-weapon system and add them in, we will have a super-system for cleaning the oceans. And it need not stop at cleaning the oceans: this robot system could quickly replant the forests of an Earth that is being destroyed at a terrifying rate.
  People have not been able to replant forests as fast as they are destroyed. But if robots take part, the pace of reforestation will be far faster, covering the Earth in green again, and next they could stop illegal deforestation everywhere.
  I earnestly ask the professors to agree with my view, and the great sponsors to accept my view, so that we rebuild our beloved home, the Earth, rather than abandon it to destruction and then toil to establish life on some other strange planet.
  We have not yet found a single green leaf on Mars, whereas this Earth already has so many forests. Let us first preserve life here...

The words of the old Vietnamese professor were warmly applauded. In the end all three delegations promised to bring their technologies together to create a super-system protecting the Earth's ecology. Everyone signed a memorandum of understanding on the project, its sponsorship and its implementation. 🌍

Science, technology, engineering, money, and in the end we need a great heart to reorient all of it. Let each person prepare that noble heart, to lead human civilisation towards peace, happiness and supreme wisdom.